(a) Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method of providing visualization information of a rear vehicle, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method of recognizing a neighbor vehicle traveling around a vehicle by use of sound source tracking information so as to visually provide location information of the neighbor vehicle to a driver of the vehicle.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Various sounds are produced around a traveling vehicle. However, elderly drivers with poor hearing or drivers with poor sensory perception may not quickly process a specific sound (e.g., horn sound or siren sound) to which drivers should pay attention. In addition, due to the development of vehicle sound insulation, even persons having good hearing may often have difficulty accurately hearing sounds produced from the exterior of the vehicle. Furthermore, in the case in which a driver who has recognized a specific sound produced from the back of the vehicle looks behind in order to confirm the sound, this behavior may be unsafe.
Therefore, it is necessary to inform the driver of information about a specific sound, for example, information as to which sound is produced around the vehicle of the driver and in which direction the sound is produced, without hindering safe driving.
In addition to providing the driver with simple notification information, for example, information regarding which sound is produced around the vehicle and in which direction the sound is produced, providing auditory information to the driver in a visualized form on a display is needed without hindering driving in order to aid in overall driving control of the vehicle. In particular, an external sound of the vehicle may be converted into location information of a neighbor vehicle located around the vehicle, and the converted location information may be provided to the driver of the vehicle in the form of visualized information.
Accordingly, there is need for a detailed method of visually providing the location of a neighbor vehicle located around a host vehicle to a driver of the host vehicle by use of sound produced around the host vehicle while driving.